Private care-provider Regard has been named as a finalist in the 2017 national awardsof HealthInvestor magazine.

With the awards now in their 11th year, HealthInvestor has acknowledged 2017 as the most competitive entry process yet.

The awards recognise achievement in the business of healthcare by a huge range of organisations, ranging from financial and property advisers, to clinical services and technology providers.

Regard, who has been named as a finalist in the category ‘Specialist Care Provider Of The Year,’ is the country’s fourth biggest private provider of care homes and supported living services.

Founded in 1994, the organisation employs over 2,200 direct care staff to support more than 1,100 service users with learning disabilities, mental health needs or acquired brain injuries at over 148 services nationwide.

Regard’s CEO, Sandie Foxall-Smith, said: “These awards provide an independent endorsement of the quality of the service we deliver and we’re delighted to have been selected as finalists, in the face of some very stiff competition.

“It’s important to us because these awards recognise that we are not only an excellent care-provider, but also a sound commercial business.

“Our guiding principle is that everything we do should come together to ensure we are continuously enabling the people we support and care for to lead more fulfilled lives, at the same time providing a rewarding working environment for our employees, within a business structure which is well-managed and prudently financed.

Regard is currently experiencing a period of growth, having opened 13 new services in 2016, with another three due to open during the first three months of 2017. These are all supported living services in response to demand from local authorities in different parts of the country.